Sirius Black:Uncovered
by Mel Walton
Summary: Ever wondered about Sirus Black's background story? When he attended Hogwarts, after graduation, and when Voldemort came to power? This fanfic explores Sirius' love life, his accomplishments, and downfalls. Please leave comments. Any feedback is much appreciated :) I just added the 4th chapter. Please read and comment
1. Prologue

Anxiously I waited by the window, contemplating whether or not I should run after him. Something was wrong. I could feel it. And yet I knew it. But I didn't want to know or speak of the truth. It just couldn't be true. The crystal glass clock in the corner ticked away. Oh, how I hated the thing. Every hour it chimed, the noise vibrating off the walls. It made me nervous. I would have to remember to remind Sirius to get rid of it. Please, please, please let them be okay. Let him be okay. I wanted to see them all; safe.

Half an hour later, there still wasn't any sign of Sirius. No news of Lily or James. I couldn't wait anymore. Hastily, I grabbed my wand off the front counter, rushing out the door. Turning on the spot, I felt the wind underneath my feet, yanking me from the earth, pulling me until my feet hit solid ground. My eyes seemed to never adjust to the darkness.

Slowly I walked up the dark lonely street, pumpkins still faintly glowing in windows from the night before. It was about two am, children haven been escorted into their houses by tired parents after a long night of trick-or-treating. Peculiar it was how the whole world seemed to be sleep, when I was so awake and alert, pausing at every little sound. Only continuing, when I was sure it was just the fluttering of an owl's wing up ahead, retiring from a night of hunting. Finally I turned onto Lily and James' street.

As soon as I saw it, my heart stopped. Skipped several beats. No, no, no. I was running. Running faster than I ever had in my whole entire life. Running toward the ruins of a house that I knew without hesitation was my friends'. No, no, no. It wasn't their house; it couldn't be. As I got closer, I noticed that a crowd had already gathered here. Wizarding families from nearby and some from afar. Dumbledore, his face grave, stood closest to the ruins, talking to the minister. Protective guards from the Ministry of Magic blocked the crowd from getting any closer to the houses. A witch with long black hair, held Harry, standing just a few inches behind Dumbledore, softly crying. And then I heard it. A loud moan, a soul-chilling cry. I pushed past the guard nearest me, rushing to the steps leading to the house.

"Hey! Hey! You can't go in there. Someone! Stop her!" he shouted. I kept moving even though I could feel the gaze of the crowd on my back. Kingsley blocked my path, an arm outstretched. He looked tired, sad even.

"What's going on? Where are they?" Kingsley shook his head. "Kingsley, please. Where are they?" He looked down. Frantically, I tried to move around him.

"Rachel." I turned around to face Dumbledore.

"Where are they? Are they okay? What's going on?" Dumbledore's piercing blue eyes revealed sadness. And I knew. Knew they weren't okay. Knew what had happened. "Howww?" I asked. How could he have found them? How could this have happened? How many precautions had we taken to prevent this? Constantly drinking polyjuice. Only coming out of our houses when absolutely necessary. Switching locations every three days.

"I will explain. But first you need to get out of here. I will arrange for Harry to stay with his aunt and uncle. You and Sirius need to meet me in my office in an hour".

"No!" I exclaimed. "He should stay with us. Lily and James made me and Sirius his godparents. She hates him…Petunia hates him. She won't let him live with her. Please, he can't."

Dumbledore shook his head sadly. "You and Sirius are easy targets for Death eaters. We must discuss the matter in private."

"Where's Sirius". As if on cue, that same loud outcry came from the house again. This time I managed to push past Kingsley, running up the steps, into the hall, and up the stairs. Sirius sat in a pathetic heap, his hands blocking his face. I rushed to his side. "Sirius! Sirius?" It killed me to see him like this. And that's when I lost it. The last ounce of hope I had was gone. Lily and James were really gone. Gone forever.

Guards led us out the house. The crowd had grown even bigger. Children held on to their mothers head. Everyone wore the same solemn expression. They, too, were waiting for news. Waiting to hear what had happened. Rita stood with her green quill poised over a piece of parchment, waiting for a statement from the minister. When she saw us, her face lit up like a child's on Christmas. She tried to make her way to us, but a guard gave her a particularly ugly look. She retreated back into the crowd, looking rather cross.

Sirius walked slowly, his hand entwined in mine. I glanced at his face through my red eyes. His eyes too, were red, dark circles beginning to form from a sleepless night. His hair was scattered messily, locks falling maniacally into his face, creating a dark shadow. The crowd watched us, but I didn't turn around. The witch with the long black hair was gone, probably with Dumbledore who had also disappeared.

I clutched Sirius's hand, felt the feet separating from the earth. Felt the wind pulling us. I held his hand tighter. Held on to the only other person I had left. Had on to the only other person I still trusted. Held on to the person who felt everything I felt.


	2. Take a Chance memory

Lily Evans and Rachel Diggory lounged on the bright green grass under a huge concealing tree, staring at the sparkling lake. The sun shone brilliantly with the absence of the usual presence of clouds during autumn. It seemed like everyone was outside trying to enjoy the weather while it lasted. Their book bags laid abandoned a few feet away as they discussed the upcoming trip to Hogsmeade.

"Liz Mitchell thinks Austin will ask her out by then. You should hear her going on and on about it every Transfiguration class. Got her a detention when the professor caught her blabbing, accidently turning her mouse into a teacup with peacock feathers. I don't see why she's so consumed with Austin when there are so many more reliable boys around here who aren't complete jerks." Rachel said with a casual eye roll.

"Well there goes my chance, huh?" Sirius Black laughed from behind a nearby oak tree, Rachel quickly straightened up, clearly on a verge of uproar due to this interruption. An annoyed expression crossed Lily's face but unlike Rachel, she waited to hear what Sirius and his everlasting tag-along, James Potter, wanted. At least there wasn't any sign of the rest of their crew. James and Sirius were known to travel with a crowd not too far behind. No matter how appealing everyone else found them, Lily considered James and Sirius to be attention-seekers.

"As if you ever had one," Rachel sneered, giving Sirius the coldest glare she could muster.

"That's too bad," Sirius replied, crouching down amongst a group of pink and purple flowers growing nearby. "Because I was going to ask you to accompany me to Hogsmeade Saturday." Brushing his fingers pass the pink flowers, he settled on a purple one, and plucked it from the ground. He held it out for Rachel to take.

Rachel's eyes iced over the flower as if it were dragon dung. "You can't be serious," she said in disbelief.

"Well that is his name. At least last time I checked it was," James laughed, flashing a bright smile Lily's way.

"Why would I want to go out with you?" Rachel asked coldly.

"Well, are you going into Hogsmeade with someone else?" Sirius asked dropping the flower back to the ground once he saw Rachel had no plans of accepting it. Lily noticed his eyes were no longer playful and his tone became defensive, almost as cold as hers.

"That's none of your business." Rachel said nastily, her eyes narrowed.

"Whatever." Sirius muttered leaning on the tree.

Lily grabbed Rachel's arm, picked up their bags, and steered Rachel toward the castle.

"Guess that's a no, mate." James shook his head, tossing a stone into the lake.

"Girls. No one understands them."

James laughed.

As Rachel and Lily walked to Gryffindor's common room, Lily noticed Rachel was rather quiet. Usually after an encounter with Sirius, Rachel would mutter for days about how much of a prick he was, shooting him annoyed looks in classes. But now she seemed deep in thought. She kept wringing her hands and sliding her "R" pendant across its silver chain.

"Why are you so quiet?" Lily finally asked.

Rachel glanced at Lily; slowing her pace a bit to let two Ravenclaws prance by in a fit of giggles. Once they were out of earshot, Rachel turned back to Lily.

"What if Sirius really did want to ask me out?" she asked.

Lily hesitated. "I think he does," she began slowly. "Actually he just did. You know, James asked me yesterday.

Rachel's eyebrows shot up. "Really?"

Lily nodded. "At first I thought he was being funny, but he seemed really genuine. Sirius wasn't even around when he asked. So I told him I'd think about it. On my way to Potions I met up with Severus. Well, he wasn't happy when I told him about it."

_Yeah, I can only imagine._ Rachel thought to herself. _Severus hates James and Sirius almost as much as they hate him. There's no way I'm going to tell him Sirius asked me out._

"Maybe we should just think about it," Lily suggested to Rachel as they approached the portrait. "Liversprout." She told the lady who sat in a velvet chair with a scowl on her face. The portrait swung open and they emerged into a cozy room. But from the disapproving look on Rachel's face, Lily was certain Rachel wouldn't give Sirius a chance. Who could blame her? James and Sirius were always getting landed in detention due to the endless pranks they pulled. Every girl in school liked or used to like at least one of them. All this attention definitely gave their egos a boost and that wasn't even taking into consideration James being on the Gryffindor quidditch team. She reached into her bag for her Potions notes, a quill, and ink, preparing to begin her essay on the effects of the sleeping potion they were discussing in class. A case of brightly colored quills fell out on the floor along with a stack of papers. Irritably she picked up the stack of papers, trying to reorganize them. A slightly crumpled up piece of parchment with flying snitches drawn in the corners caught her eye. She held the paper under a nearby lantern whose orange light spilled onto the table.

I know you said you'd think about it, but the trip into Hogsmeade is two days from now. Please say yes already. Oh and Sirius wants to know if Raven I mean, Rachel wants to come too. You know, so he can announce his undying love for her. Just kidding.

-James

"Here." Lily said handing Rachel the small piece of parchment.

"What? What's this?" Rachel asked, knocking a bit of ink onto her Runes chart. Flicking her wand, the ink disappeared.

"James put this in my bag down at the lake. Read it." Rachel grabbed the note. She read it quickly and then handed it back to Lily.

"Is this the rune for moon?" she asked, showing Lily a swirly symbol in her _Runes: A Closer Look at Ancient Society_ book.

Lily pushed the book away. "Well…what do you think?" she gestured toward the note.

Rachel sighed. "Fine. We'll go with them into Hogsmeade. I guess it won't hurt to give it a try."

Lily stared back at her in shock. "Are you feeling okay? I wouldn't exactly say you and Sirius had a heartwarming conversation, but maybe you do actually like him."

Rachel laughed. "No. I just want to get this over with so I won't have to hear about this anymore."

"So you think these dates are going to be disastrous?" Lily asked.

"Oh, let's just say we haven't seen disastrous yet!" Rachel replied sarcastically turning back to her Runes chart. Lily pulled her Potions essay back toward her.

"Oh, by the way, that's the rune for ice," she said before dipping her quill in a bottle of ink.

"Great." Rachel muttered before frantically flipping through the book to look for the correct rune.

"I guess I'll tell James next time I see him." Lily said.

A loud bang erupted as the portrait swung open and two teenage boys (one with untidy dark hair whereas the other had curly dark hair) emerged into the common room laughing hysterically.

"I'll get the headmaster on you! Mark my words. This time you'll be on the train home. Then we'll see who'll be laughing." Filch threatened as the portrait door closed.

"Old git," James said sliding down on the couch beside Remus Lupin who looked up wearily.

Rachel shook her head, begging Lily to not walk over there.

_Please don't let me regret this._ Lily pleaded as she walked over to the couch.


	3. A Remainder From the Past

Rachel Diggory emerged into the daily chaos of the Ministry of Magic. All around her, wizards and witches were thrust from emerald flames, dusting off their cloaks as they embarked further into the ministry. Owl wings flapped overhead in a mad attempt to deliver the Daily Prophet and to collect their dues. One owl pecked rather unpleasantly at an old man with a sour face, in hope that this would be the customer who would rid it of its last newspaper. The old man, however, flicked the owl off with the tip of his wand.

"You know, if you would just buy the paper, he'd stop." Rachel offered as the owl dived toward the old man's head.

"Nonsense! I-don't-read-that-bloody PAPER!" the old man shouted as he tried to pry the owl off his black traveling cloak.

Rachel gently wrapped her hands around the owl's midsection, pulling it from the cloak. "Here." She slipped a knut into the small pouch tied around it leg. The owl pecked her hand in appreciation, dropped the newspaper into her free hand, and then joined a swarm of owls leaving the ministry.

"Filthy owls," the old man muttered as he hurried away.

Rachel walked to one of the lifts. The golden grates swung closed as she stepped inside. A group of maintenance wizards in navy robes stood huddled together in the back of the lift, deep in conversation.

"Yes, but I've already tried that. It seems to be more serious than I thought." A stout wizard said with short greying hair.

"Try a more complex vanishing spell. If that doesn't work, there must be another spell at work," another wizard said.

"Rachel, how are you this morning?" a wizard with long black hair called out. He was the youngest of the group and had only started two weeks ago.

"Splendid. And you?" Rachel asked in turn.

"I'm great. I'm just trying to convince these guys to loosen up." He chuckled.

"Loosen up? Loosen up?! Tisby are you this dim! Dozens of offices raining. Every time we fix one, it starts back again!" An irritated wizard with red hair shot back.

The lift emerged onto the twelve floor. Rachel waved goodbye as the wizards continued their conversation. She emerged onto a floor with gold carpet and a brilliant illuminating light. The other aurors had complained about the carpet, but Rachel loved it. Some parts of her job were dark enough. If she could brighten each floor of the ministry, she would.

She continued down the hall until she reached the ninth door, emblazoned with a scarlet 9. She turned the doorknob, and stepped into an office with many desks. Her desk was in the corner across from Kingsley's. Kingsley sat there, rifling through a stack of papers.

"Hey Kingsley," she said as she pulled off her travelling cloak and sat at her desk.

"Diggory." He nodded in her direction before heading back to work.

Rachel turned to a cabinet behind her. Just as she reached for a file, a knock at the door interrupted her.

Kingsley glanced up, preparing to head for the door.

"No, I'll get it." Rachel walked across the hard waxed floors, and opened the door.

Lucius Malfoy stood before her, his pale blond hair cascading down his shoulders. As usual, he held a silver walking stick. He didn't need it of course, but its powerful demeanor was the reason why he carried it.

"Hello, Rachel." He gave her a small smile.

Rachel stepped outside the door, closing it behind her. "Lucius, what are you doing here?"

"I wanted a word with the minister." Lucius said.

Rachel glanced down at her watch. "He should be finishing up with Duncan in ten minutes."

"Yes, so I've been informed." Lucius replied, his grey eyes revealing slight irritation.

"Soooo, what can I do for you?" Rachel asked puzzled.

"I heard you would be stationed at Hogwarts this year," Lucius said.

"Well, it's not official yet, but I might. My daughter is considering attending Hogwarts this year. It's not certain, but there might be extra protection at the school this year." Rachel told him.

"Well, I feel more relieved now that there will be extra protection around the school. Hogwarts has become careless." Lucius said.

There was something behind the glint in Lucius' eye that made Rachel uneasy. Like maybe he wished to say more but had decided against it.

"Well, you should get going. The minister should be finishing up," Rachel said as she glanced at her watch again.

Lucius nodded and headed down the hall toward the lift. Rachel watched him leave before heading back into the office.

Kingsley stood up. His desk was bare, the stack of papers gone. "See you later, Diggory", he said in his deep booming voice.

"Right", Rachel said. Kingsley was not only an auror, but he worked with the minister. Now that the minister's meeting was ending, he would go back to assist him.

Rachel sat back down at her desk, pulling the file from the cabinet. Just as she turned around, she noticed a small piece of paper on her desk. It hadn't been there before. A phoenix was emblazoned on the front. Rachel opened the note.

Order of the Phoenix meeting at 8:00. Grimmauld's Place.

Rachel read before the note fluttered back to her desk and lit itself on fire, leaving behind a stack of ashes.


	4. A Familiar Face

Nine hours later, Rachel Diggory put all the files scattered on her desk back into the file cabinet. She waved her wand, sending bottles of ink and multicolored quills back into holders on the many shelves around the room. The day had been pretty uneventful, considering most death eaters were lying low at the moment. All she had done so far was review cases of suspected death eaters, none of which seemed likely to actually be one. Once she had come to the last file about a maid at the Leaky Cauldron suspected because of unusual behavior, she had called it a day.

The maid, Cathy, was no harm at all. A bit loony, sure, but dangerous? Never. Rachel was further convinced that the ministry was just trying to make it seem as if they were doing something. A year ago, such ridiculous suspicions wouldn't have made way into the aurors' headquarters. Why she remembered how nice Cathy had been to her when she had rented a room at the Leaky Cauldron about fifteen years ago. Yes, she had muttered a lot about her many cats and had even used some unknown language when asking for Rachel's laundry, but she really was harmless. Fifteen years ago. That had been around the time when Sirius had first gotten arrested.

No. She wouldn't think about that. She had tried long and hard to forget those memories. It had been years since she had thought about him. And yet, she couldn't help herself as she looked down at the small pile of ashes in the waste bin. Grimmauld Place. When was the last time she had been there?

Kingsley couldn't have been serious. _I mean, after all these years._ But why would the Order hold their meetings there? It was no secret that the Order had gotten back together. Well, at least it wasn't a secret to her since Dumbledore had invited her to rejoin once he had heard she would possibly be stationed at Hogwarts this year with a few of the other aurors. She hadn't really given much thought to joining the Order again though. Yes, they were fighting for the same cause, but she just didn't want to be bothered with the Order anymore. What difference did it make? Fighting with the Order or alone? Your chances were still the same.

The members of the Order weren't immune to being killed off. Rachel thought of a lot of the members who had been killed during the war last time. And then some members of the Order had turned against their cause later on in the war and joined the death eaters. Rachel knew one member in the Order who had done this in particular. He was the reason why Sirius had been sent to Azkaban for something he hadn't done.

_No. Here I go again,_ she thought. Trying to push these thoughts from her mind, Rachel looked around the room one more time before turning off the lights and heading out the door. She walked across the gold carpet, back to the lifts, down to the main floor, and stepped into one of the many fireplaces connected to the Floo Network. The ministry was quiet now. Most people had already gone home. Only most of the top officials remained at work, shut away in their offices. Grabbing a handful of floo powder, Rachel yelled Greenland Avenue. She felt her feet jerk from the fireplace and land finally on the cement sidewalk.

She walked the short block to her house, noticing along the way, the growing number of empty houses. Since the many attacks, herds of people had gone into hiding. Rachel considered that move a sign of defeat. She wouldn't pack up and leave. There was still hope.

Rachel reached her house at last. She entered the door, instantly greeted by the smell of steak and stew. She took off her coat and headed into the kitchen. There around a large ornate table sat her twin daughters, Lacy and Rose, and their friends from Beatonbeux: Alison, Lauren, and Sarah.

"Hey girls. Are you staying for dinner?" Rachel asked.

"No, we were just helping Rose study for the entrance exam tomorrow." Lauren said. Rachel glanced at her daughter who was buried nose deep in an old copy of _Transfiguration in Modern Times._ Rose had decided to transfer to Hogwarts this year for a more rigorous curriculum. Or so she said. But Rachel suspected Rose wanted to leave behind all the sympathetic stares from the last couple of months. Her cousin, Cedric Diggory, had died in the Triwizard Tournament. Things had been hard since then. Her other daughter, Lacy, had refused to go to Hogwarts. Although Lacy had made up an excuse for not wanting to go, Rachel knew her daughter was a rebel at heart and most likely did not want to leave behind the familiar secret passages at her school for unfamiliar ones at Hogwarts.

"Sweetheart, I'm sure you'll do just fine," Rachel told her daughter. Rose gave her an uncertain look. The following morning, Rose would have to pass a combination of tests for each subject taught at Hogwarts. Rachel knew her daughter would do great since she was the best of her year and was already attempting spells most of her fellow aurors couldn't do. But it was natural for Rose to worry.

"That's what I said, but she wouldn't listen," Lacy said leaning back in her chair and putting her feet up on the table. She flashed Rose a grin, waved her wand, and watched all of the books piled up around Rose and the one in her hand, disappear.

"Hey!" Rose yelled. But she quickly grinned back, no longer attempting to fret over the exams. A timer went off in the corner of the kitchen.

"Oh, mom, we made dinner. We thought you'd be staying but…"Rose trailed off noticing her mother still held her coat in one hand. Rachel looked at the clock on the wall above the kitchen counter. 7:30. She felt butterflies in her stomach. Almost time.

"I can't. I'm sorry. I have a meeting with Dumbledore in 30 minutes." Rachel said sliding her coat back on.

"A meeting? At this hour? For what?" Lacy asked, leaning forward in her chair and resting her feet back on the ground. She gave her mother a suspicious look.

"Top-secret business. Sorry," Rachel trilled, shrugging her shoulders in a playful manner. Rose gave her "no, we're serious" look. "It's about the extra protection around Hogwarts."

This wasn't completely true but Rachel didn't feel like explaining the Order to her daughters. Especially since she didn't know if she would be rejoining or not. "Oh," Lacy said displaying her apparent disinterest. Rose gave her mother a puzzled look but didn't press the issue.

7:40. "Okay, I won't be long. Bye girls", she said hurrying out the kitchen. Once out the door, Rachel turned on the spot and found herself across the street from Grimmauld Place. Her stomach did somersaults_. I can't do this. I can't do this_. Rachel paced back and forth, willing herself to gather enough courage and go inside.

It wasn't seeing the remaining order that made her nervous. It wasn't being back at Grimmauld Place either. Well, not really. The last time she had been here, she had been engaged to Sirius. It was the possibility that Sirius might be in there. He had escaped from Azkaban 2 years ago. He could be anywhere but since the ministry had turned a blind eye to finding him, it would make sense for him to come back here. As far as she knew, no aurors were stationed at his residence. Rachel had spent the last two years since she had learned about his escape, trying to find him. She assumed he would be lying low but as time went by, she wondered why he hadn't tried to find her or contact her.

The fact that he could be in that house, perfectly fine, and had not tried to contact her was too much to think about. But curiousity got the best of her. Determinedly, Rachel approached the house. She watched as it appeared in place, revealing a door. She walked up the stairs, and opened the door, stepping into a narrow hallway. The place still looked the same. For a moment Rachel stood in the doorway, contemplating whether or not to go any further. But she continued to walk down the hall, passing a knocked over umbrella stand, as she came to a door. A kitchen door. She heard faint mumbling behind the door. Hesitantly, Rachel reached out a hand and pushed open the door. Silence fell in the room at once as all eyes focused on her.

Seated around a long old wooden table sat the remaining members of the Order of the Phoenix. Snape sat at a corner of the table, smirking. Kingsley and Lupin looked at her curiously, waiting on her reaction. She passed over several more familiar faces. But then she saw him. Sirius.

Her heart skipped several beats. He was a bit thinner than the last time she had seen him, but overall he looked fine. Except for his pale face. He looked at her as if he had seen a ghost. His mouth was slightly open in disbelief. She stared back at him, just as dumbfounded, not knowing what to say or do. Just then a voice came from the head of the table. Rachel instantly recognized it as Dumbledore's.

"Rachel, how nice of you to join us."

***Please leave comments. I would love feedback. I'm really new at this and I would love advise about how to improve.***


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